AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How did you get in?” he queried.
“I have friends in high places,” she said with a smirk. When he raised an eyebrow, she explained, “Sally-Ann is on front desk duty. She knew I was here to see you.”
Ah. That explained it. He really, really hoped Sally-Ann hadn’t said anything inappropriate to Lacey. She’d only met Lacey the once, but she’d already latched onto the idea that Nico should get back in the dating saddle, and she was more than vocal in telling him he should ask the lovely young woman out. Nico had told her in no uncertain terms they were merely friends, and he was letting Lacey stay at his place because she had nowhere else to stay; he would’ve done the same for anybody. Sally-Ann had merely slapped her thigh and let out a knowing laugh that made Nico grit his teeth.
“Have you got time for a quick lunch?” she asked.
For her, the answer was a resounding yes. But not wanting to appear too eager, he raised an eyebrow and seemed to consider her words for a few seconds. Waiting until his heart subsided to a slightly more normal beat, he finally said, “Of course,” in his most proficient voice, as if he hadn’t just been shaken by her appearance. “How about a sandwich and a walk along the shorefront? I could do with a little fresh air.”
“It’s more than fresh out there,” she answered, finally giving him a smile. “But I get that you need to blow the cobwebs away,” she added.
He liked how she understood his need without having to be told. Along with everything else, he was having trouble getting the disturbing details of his mother’s call last night out of his head. He’d phoned Catarina again this morning to see how she was coping. At first she was agitated, but she calmed after he promised he’d look into it, told her to leave it with him for a few days. All he wanted was to focus on this murder investigation, but thoughts of his dead father kept interrupting at the most inopportune times. Thoughts of how he could get hold of that photo and confirm for certain the man in it was Serge kept circling his head. But he simply didn’t have time to go to Victoria and check out Marco’s claims. Perhaps if he got outside and let the wind whip through his hair, it’d give him some much needed perspective.
“Lead the way,” he said with a flourish, and his heart started that stupid double-tap again when she smiled at him, eyes dancing and white teeth flashing. What was he going to do about his attraction to this woman? It was getting stronger every day.
He checked in at the reception desk on his way out to make sure there were no messages or any new calls come into the hotline and let Sally-Ann know he’d be out for half an hour. He grimaced as she winked at him from behind Lacey’s back.
They decided to grab a ready-made baguette from the bakery a few shops down from the health clinic—his was beef and mustard; hers was salmon and brie. Nico had been frequenting this little bakery ever since he’d started work in Burnie, and the baguettes were always fresh and delicious. But Lacey gave the guy behind the counter an odd look as Nico put in his order. Jayden, the apprentice, seemed not to notice Lacey staring at him. The young man was in his second year with the bakery and Nico often chatted to him about his passion, hiking the wilderness trails throughout Tasmania. Jayden was fit and athletic and loved to hike whenever he could, and Nico was a tad jealous. He’d love to spend more time exploring the Tasmanian back country, but he never seemed to have enough time. Clark Constantine, who owned this bakery as well as the one in Wynyard, where Karim worked, was nowhere to be seen today.
Clark had been as helpful as he could answering Nico’s questions about Karim as an employee. He’d been just as shocked as everyone else to hear about Rania’s death. Clark had said he didn’t think Karim was capable of murdering his girlfriend; they’d seemed so in love. But there had been an edge to Clark’s remarks, and when Nico dug deeper, the other man conceded he had wondered about his employee’s behavior lately. He’d been pretty wired a few times when he’d arrived at work for the four am start. Clark said it felt like the guy was almost manic. No one started that early in the morning by bouncing into the building like they’d just won the local meat raffle. Even with his two cups of extra-strong coffee, Clark had said he never felt that bright and perky in the morning.
Jayden handed him the two baguettes and Nico steered Lacey out of the tiny shop. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Hmm?” She made a preoccupied noise and glanced over her shoulder toward the bakery. What was going on with her?
“You were staring at Jayden,” he said, handing her the salmon and brie baguette.
“Was I?”
“Mmm hmm,” he replied. “Something you want to tell me?” Like did she have the hots for nineteen-year-old apprentices with a mop of dark hair and equally dark eyes? The stab of jealousy was so sharp it took Nico by surprise. But he schooled his features and waited for her to answer.
She glanced up at him, her amber eyes going dark as she seemed to consider something for a second. Then she shook her head. “No. Sorry, I don’t know what got into me.” She laughed, as if she’d been thinking something silly.
There was a new walkway that’d been built along the waterfront of West Beach that he guided her toward. The wind was blowing hard from the northwest, making the already chilly day feel icy. But he didn’t mind the cold; it was a nice change from his overheated office. Lacey zipped her jacket up to her neck and lassoed her hair into a tight ponytail, but didn’t complain. They strolled past The Foreshore Restaurant, where they’d eaten lunch with Gabriel the other day. Lacey attacked her sandwich with relish, making appreciative sounds that reminded him of how she’d moaned in the back of her throat the other morning when he’d kissed her.Quick. He had to get that thought out of his head, or he wouldn’t be able to walk along in public for much longer.
“God, this is the best baguette I’ve ever tasted,” she said through a mouthful of bread.
“I know,” he agreed. He debated for a second whether to tell her what was on his mind. He’d already confided in Lacey more in the past few days than he had in anyone else over the past few years, so it was only natural to tell her this latest tidbit. “The man who owns that bakery also owns the one Karim works for in Wynyard.”
Lacey stopped mid-chew to stare at him. “Really?”
“Really,” he replied, taking a satisfied bite of his baguette. The picture of Karim’s life was coming into focus. And it was making him more and more likely to be their prime suspect. When asked by the media, their official line was that Karim was assisting police with their enquiries. He hadn’t been charged with anything. Yet. His little outburst the other night hadn’t made things any easier on him. Karim would most probably make bail this afternoon, which irked Nico no end. But Nico felt it might not be long before they had enough evidence to take Karim back into custody.
“Clark admitted he’d had suspicions about Karim’s drug taking when we interviewed him yesterday,” he said through a mouthful.
Lacey looked thoughtful for a second. “Which corroborates Herb’s story about what Rania told him.”
“Exactly,” he replied. “We have an undercover contact who works with the drug element in the area and we tracked down Karim’s dealer yesterday. He wasn’t happy about us collaring him, but he talked eventually.”
Nico took another bite of his lunch as he thought about the facts building against the young man. He should feel a sense of satisfaction, but instead he felt vaguely indignant that it could be this easy. There was uncertainty hovering at the back of his mind, but he wasn’t sure what was causing it.
“We still haven’t found his cocaine stash,” Nico revealed. “But when we confronted Karim today with the evidence we have so far, he finally admitted to his habit. His parents are heartbroken.”
“I can imagine,” she replied. “Their golden boy isn’t so golden anymore. It must be a hard thing to learn about your only son.”
“Yes. Especially because they were relying on his income to help the family.”
“Hmm.” Lacey stopped walking and stared out at the stormy ocean. “I still can’t get out of my head how piteous he sounded the other night when he came to your place. How desperate he was for us to believe he wasn’t guilty.”
